Dear Family and Friends,
I hope you are doing great! I wanted to write you to let you know about some new things that are going on in my life.
A few months ago my Dad invited me to go to an event called Passion 2011 Conferences. At first I was very hesitant; I had things to do… I was busy… I didn’t have enough money… Looking back now, I know that the Lord had His hand on my life in my being at that conference where He could speak to me. They showed a video for “Do Something Now” about the “Koso” people, who are an unreached people group. Unreached people group means that less than 2% of the populations are believing Christians. Fortunately for me, I inherited my Granddad’s problem of crying at anything… I am actually tearing up thinking about it. That’s ok right?
This video showed the people who were living in mud shacks, dying from malaria/aids, and this one Christian girl and boy who were in it with them, spreading God’s word. At the end of it tears were running down my face and my Dad looked over and said, “Maybe you shouldn’t be working for Apple.” My greedy self was like, "No, this is where God wants me to be: happy, with my friends, making (not enough) money, working for the #1 technology company in the world, and living in the best city in Texas." Deep down I knew that I was putting off something that I know I have been called to do my whole life, missions.
As time passed after the conference, I slowly began to forget about the calling and fell back into my normal habits of life and doing things for myself. Every now and again(,) I would pick up my Bible, maybe read a verse or two and set it back down to collect dust. Watching TV, hanging out with friends, going out to eat or just browsing Facebook seemed like a better way to spend my time.
A couple of months went by and I woke up one Saturday morning and the first thing that popped into my head was “there’s got to be something more than just this.”
I randomly started following Relevant magazine on Twitter… They had posted an article from a blog that a guy had written while he was on “The World Race”. He was in a prison in Thailand ministering to the people there, which caused me to think to myself, "How awesome would this be to do." I didn’t think much more about it after that and brushed it off like, "yeah… maybe one day." But God wasn’t going to let it stop with, “yeah maybe one day.” He laid it on my heart that I was living a life that was comfortable for me. There is nothing wrong with being comfortable, but I don’t have to sacrifice anything. If I want something, I go get it. The problem is, I am uncomfortable being comfortable. I am tired of living a life that is great for me, while other people are out there barely surviving, putting all their faith in a god that, compared to my life, hasn’t really done much for them. God has really blessed me; I have the best family and a really great life, but I feel called to sell everything I own and go into missions.
Rereading this, it sounds like a foreign concept, sell everything – go help those in need.
I decided one day to check out what this World Race really was, and the first thing I noticed on the World Race’s website is: “Have you ever wondered if there’s something more out there, If there’s more to life than empty traditions, routines, and working 9-5 everyday to achieve the impossibility of the American dream? It’s because there is.”
I was really struggling with the idea… mostly telling God, "No, I don’t want to give up this life. I want to keep on sinning and I really don’t care what You want me to do. "
So I got on theworldrace.org and began filling out their application. I never finished it because it was asking me personal questions that I was too lazy to answer. I got a call from one of their staff the next day, who asked me questions and provided his number if I had any further questions for him. I kept on living my life but the idea of going into the mission field continued to be in my thoughts, even though I tried to continue pursuing “my” dreams.
I shared with my friend, Josh Fort, that I was thinking about going into the mission field and he asked me, “What are you waiting for?” I couldn’t even answer that question, it blew my mind.
What was I waiting for?
I went home and completed my application for the race. I also applied for a couple of other mission trips, because I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do. Another staff agent called me back, asking me if I could set up an interview for the race. I did the interview then a couple of days later I was accepted, and there I was. The ball was in my court. I still had the opportunity to say, “No God, I think I’m going to wait on this one.” And I was really considering just that because of my job, financial obligations, and best friend, Railey (my dog).
I went back home the weekend before my deadline to sign up, and talked to my parents about it. When anyone asked me about my decision to go on the mission trip, my first response was, “I don’t know yet.” Really that was me saying, “I don’t want to step out in faith and trust that God has everything taken care of.” For those of you reading this who know me pretty well, know that I am far from perfect. I feel like I struggle with more things than anyone, but I know that God is going to use my testimony and the things I have experienced in my life for His kingdom. Anyway, that Sunday I went to church and, to be honest, I didn’t really want to go. The pastor, Allen Hobgood, who was one of my old youth ministers, was talking about Peter stepping out of the boat, and walking on water. During the preaching, I found myself crying again, cause I couldn’t hold it back (thanks Pops)(,) and my Dad obviously noticed and told me that I should go share what God is doing in my life. It was at that time that I decided I was going to go on the World Race. Let me tell you, since I have put my deposit down on the trip, the devil has been in beast mode coming after me. Getting into the Word, praying and running from temptation only became more of a struggle, like it isn’t already hard enough.
But,
This is what I am called to do,
11 countries in 11 months.
Honduras
Guatemala
El Salvador
Romania
Ukraine
Kenya
Uganda
Tanzania
Thailand
Cambodia
Malaysia
I just want to make it clear that this will not be an 11 month vacation. The team of people on my trip will be immersing themselves in the culture and living with the people. We will be staying in tents, living out of backpacks, wondering when our next shower will be, and sacrificing ourselves for God’s kingdom. As to what we will be doing on the trip varies from day to day. Some days will be packed full with construction, building churches, orphanages, and homes for the people, VBS with the children of the villages, building relationships with orphans and assisting with their care, or visiting the hospitals to pray for the people and share the gospel. Of course, we will have other responsibilities like shopping for groceries at the market, cooking for the team, and spending time praying for the communities we walk through. This is not going to be easy, some days we will have to choose between having water to drink or food to eat. We will be preaching at churches throughout the countries, as well as doing mission work around each city that we enter. This mission trip is a challenge to abandon worldly possessions and a traditional lifestyle, in exchange for an understanding that it's not about me; it's about the Kingdom.
There are countless blogs online from current teams in the field right now, and one testimony that has really stood out for me is from a guy who posted his top 10 moments from the race, here are the top 5.
5. Attending a gypsy church in the middle-of-nowhere Romania, seeing that God truly reigns in all the Earth
4. Praying for Elova, a demon-possessed woman in India. She screamed and flailed her arms like a wild animal, yet after losing conscientiousness for 10 minutes, she sat up with a quiet smile and said, "I feel like a new person. I want to praise Jesus."
3. Leading worship for prostitutes and tourists in a seedy bar on Bangla Road-the center for Puhket, Thailand's sex industry.
2. Realizing God still works miracles when Joseph, a young deaf boy, had his ears opened and heard his name for the first time.
1. Finding my identity in Christ. As I stood on top of a giant boulder overlooking a Tanzanian sunset, I heard God whisper, "You are my son with whom I'm well pleased."
God is moving in these countries.
I will be posting more information on the more specific things we will be doing in the countries on my blog (hughroberts.theworldrace.org) and will also be updating this while I am in the field.
The cost of the race is $15,500, and that is just for the expenses on the field. In addition to the $15,500, I will also have to purchase gear, vaccinations and travel for training camps. God has really laid it on my heart that money will not be an issue. I am sure you are thinking, “ha… so you are asking me for money?” I am writing this letter to ask for prayer… if you feel called to give, then give. If you feel like God wants you to use your money somewhere else, use it somewhere else. I know that God has called me to go on this trip and that He is going to provide the money for me to go.
To donate or see what is happening you can go to hughroberts.theworldrace.org.
(There is an option to mail a check or pay online)
I realize now that this is long but I wanted you to know my heart. If you would like to speak with me in person concerning my trip or are just interested in hearing more you can call/text me at 817-637-3800 or email [email protected].
A couple of verses that God has really laid on my heart are Romans 12:1-2 and Luke 9:3.
Thanks,
Hugh Roberts
Romans XII 1-2: (The Message)
"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."
Luke 9:3 (NIV)
He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
